Women's Volleyball

UCSB Overtakes Xavier at UNLV Invitational, 3-0

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -
UC Santa Barbara recovered from Friday evening's loss to host UNLV by defeating Xavier in the first meeting between the two schools, 30-24, 32-20, 30-20, to end the UNLV Invitational with a 1-1 split in tournament action on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Rebecca Saraceno led UCSB with 10 kills while senior Jamie Garbisch posted nine, helping her surpass 300 career kills.

With the win the Gaucho season record is even at 3-3 overall. The Musketeers fall to 3-6 on the season and extend their losing streak to five straight games.

Xavier took the a 2-0 lead at the beginning of game one before Saraceno tied the game with a kill followed by a service ace. The Gauchos gained the lead on a bad set by the Musketeers and then went on to post five unanswered points including Garbisch's 300th career kill to bring the score to 8-3. The Gauchos maintained the advantage for the rest of the game, holding as high as a 10-point lead on several occasions before taking away the 30-24 victory. Game one saw the Gauchos most efficient hitting this season since their first game against Fresno State on Aug. 25 with UCSB hitting .394 in game one versus Xavier's .211.

The Musketeers put up a tougher fight in game two which saw 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The second game started out with each team exchanging points and posting six ties. With the game tied at 6-6, the Gauchos went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. Xavier posted two-straight points before UCSB went on a 6-0 run to bring the score to 15-8. Though the Gauchos kept their distance from the Musketeers for some time, Xavier chipped away at the UCSB lead and used a 4-0 run to tie the game up at 26-26. The teams traded four ties and with the score at 30-30, Lauren McLaughlin put away two kills to give the Gauchos the 32-30 win.

In game three the Gauchos took an early 3-0 lead before the Musketeers posted their first point. Xavier came within one at 4-3, but UCSB posted four unanswered points to once again distance themselves at 8-3. The Gauchos held onto the lead for the entire game and in several instances were ahead by as many as 11 points before they finished the game with a 30-20 score.

Saraceno led UCSB with 10 kills and also tallied four service aces, the most posted in a single match by a Gaucho this season. Saraceno had a team-leading 16 points on the game. Olivia Waldowski was second with 11 points. Waldowski posted 9 kills with a .333 hitting percentage while also recording four blocks. Stephanie Brandt had 27 assists in the game and Emily Hendrickson posted 17 digs.

Xavier was led by Kelly Ruth and Jill Quayle who each tallied a team-high nine kills. Lauren Kaminsky was the points-leader with 13 digs and seven kills. Jenn Walsh had a match-high 30 assists.

UCSB will continue its 10-game road swing next Thursday, Sept. 14 at the USD Invitational with a game against host San Diego scheduled for 7 p.m. The Gauchos will play No. 11 Wisconsin and Brown on Friday before meeting up with No. 17 Ohio on Saturday.